The Latino burglars of Watergate

[Judi Lynn]

Jun 16, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Russell Contreras



From left: Virgilio Gonzales, Frank Sturgis, attorney Henry Rothblatt, Bernard Barker, and Eugenio Martinez, outside of their Watergate trial at a district court. Photo: Wally McNamee/Corbis via Getty Image


It's been 50 years since the Watergate break-in that resulted in the fall of President Richard Nixon, but the story of the three Latinos on an anti-communist crusade who carried out the burglary is still little known.

Why it matters: This came at a time when both political parties were courting Cuban Americans and Mexican Americans, who have had decades-long divisions in political ideology.

To this day, misinformation tying Democrats to socialism and communism, and the party's progressive policies, drive many Cuban Americans to vote Republican.

Details: Virgilio González, Bernard Barker, and Eugenio Martínez, all since deceased, were three of the five burglars who broke into the Watergate Office building to illegally obtain information on Democrats.

. . .

The Cuban Americans were exiles and right-wing hardliners who believed, with no evidence, that Cuban leader Fidel Castro was helping Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern against Nixon in the 1972 election. They wanted to ensure McGovern lost and also hoped Nixon would help topple Castro.

More:
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/watergate-latino-break-in-anniversary

[viva la]

1. This was only a decade after the bay of pigs....

Nixon really exploited Castro hatred.